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New Northumbria
A small country located on the western coast of the continent of Terrestria. This country is closely similar to Great Britain and features aspects of the cultures of England throughout the centuries. It is touted as being highly traditional in nature and mystical as well, housing an exclusive wizarding school that services western Terrestria. New Northumbria runs as modern Great Britain operates, having both a monarchy and an established Parliament that governs the country. History New Northumbria is a somewhat old country which was founded in 1535. The creation of the country came about by a rifted event which placed chunks of a foreign city known as 'London' in the middle of the western penninsula. The country quickly organized into a monarchy, adopting a king and his two sons that had been suddenly transplanted from their timeframe of 1480 AD on Earth with pledged loyalties from a handful of displaced nobles and the king's own personal guard reigning order in. This period became known as the Adaptation Era where King Edward IV had under great strain managed to tightly reorganize the remaining people of his now-small kingdom and rebuild anew. During this crisis those of magical abilities were forced to reveal their existence to normal people in an effort to survive the first ten years in Terrestria. Magic became entwined with normal life for the struggling citizens and without the assistance of it the entire city would have died out due to famine within the Adaptation Era. At the end of the Adaptation Era, the misplaced city had been renamed to Edwardstown out of honor of the king and his lineage that had forged the survival of the newfound country. By King Edward the VIIIth the country expanded into a mostly rural focus, using the foreign horses and dogs they had with them to hunt wild game and till the land. Cats, rats, foxes, sparrows, dogs, pigs, badgers, and horses all were not native fauna to the penninsula and the presence of wild cats and foxes decimated the marsh duck populations, rendering the species extinct. The introduction of the badger had also caused the extinction of the northumbrian hedgehog as well as the extinction of the swamp owl. Most magical creatures brought into the world did not survive excluding a collection of unicorn and winged horses owned by a wandmaker. It was deemed that of the native creatures of New Northumbria only the Terrier Dragon, a dragon the size of a small dog with wings too small to allow flight, had magical inclinations to it. Magic and practical techniques evolved side by side in New Northumbria following its establishment, as all settlements were sure to have a mix of both, though nobility were to keep their distance with magically inclined individuals. This policy was broken infamously by Charles the Duke of Victoria, who married Piana the Wicked (then known as Piana the Talented), a known witch over his bethrothed duchess. This sparked troubles in 1735 when his brother King Edward the XIIth died unexpectedly. Scandals erupted with a prominent theory that Piana had cursed the king to place Charles on the throne. A rebellion rose up only to be squashed quickly by the royal army commanded under King Charles. After Piana bore a son King Charles had also inexplicably died, placing Piana as the regent ruler until her son came of age. King Thaddeus became the first king to have magical powers though famously produced seven sons who all had no magical capability. To this day some speculate if Piana the Wicked's bloodline is cursed following her son or if it was simply a run of incredibly bad luck. By the late 1700s the major cities of New Northumbria had been established. Seafaring knowledge and development of shipping and trade with Mo'Gallile and Lancia de Pace allowed New Northumbria to develop tidy wealth put forth in infrastructure and education of the populace. Houndsridge became a booming port where ships would sail in and out of for enterprising expeditions around the continent. Discoveries of different cultures, geography, and natural wonders led to the establishment of a university dedicated to studying the world and what it had to offer in practical applications and wisdom. In the early 1800's Foxcliff's first organized magical school opened in response to the creation of Houndsridge's premiere university and subseqent lack of interest in the magical arts. In 1930 powers of the monarchy were negotiated down during a moot with Mo'Gallile, placing more power into the hands of the people and their representatives in parliment. The Appeasement Accords were supposed to be an act of goodwill though the power dispersion was not equally shared by New Northumbria's ally. Climate and Landscape New Northumbria features a marshy and rainy weather system over the coast, which includes a large bay used primarily for trade. Closer inland and away from the coast the peaty soil gives way to flat valleys rife with wild grasses and agricultural plains. Livestock Native to Terrestria are the elephantine grazers known affectionately as 'Knackers'. They are vaguely bovine in nature with shaggy coats of water resistant hair that protect them from the moist weather. These creatures provide a succulent meat that is excellent when served with potatoes and a thick beer. Northumbrians also rear Old World cows which provide milk and cheeses, as well as Old World pigs for meat. Egg production is done by the Northumbrian Fowler, a flightless bird that lays eggs the size of oranges every week. Fowlers were nearly pushed to extinction after dominating the penninsula for centuries but the demand for their eggs and easily handled nature made them favored over old world chickens, which only are bred and eaten by the poor who cannot afford anything else. Resources and TradeCategory:Terrestria The agricultural sector of New Northumbria actively grows enough food to simply sustain the country, and spends the rest of its agricultural capability to grow 35% of the world's supply of tea. This is the major export of the country, but is not its most valuable resource. New Northumbria thrives off of the education system it has constructed, making it the premiere institution for education in all of Terrestria. It features two schools that take in both native inhabitants of New Northumbria and foreign students who wish to benefit from the worldly knowledge the schools have gathered. Education While having an excellent public system of education for the young in New Northumbria, the real stars of this prized sector are the twin institutions of upper education. Houndsridge Houndsridge is the university of New Northumbria, located on the coast. This college specializes in globalized studies to benefit a worldly student, with concentrations in all known continents of the world. Law, business, ethics, politics, sociology, economics, science, history, foreign languages and medicine are all studied here with regards to preparing students for knowing as much as they must for the continent of their choice. Masters only graduate this college in their field by having globalized knowledge of the world, making them apt professionals in the ins and outs of Rigel Prima. Many graduates of this college, even at the Bachelors level, happen to become successful wherever they go thanks to the thorough programs instituted at Houndsridge. Famous and daring explorers, cartographers, and businessmen of today may have, at one point, been a student on the grounds of Houndsridge itself. Foxcliff Foxcliff is the magical school of New Northumbria, located in the center of the country within a rolling valley. This institution specializes in all forms of magical study, following its global outlook as its sister college Houndsridge. Magical theory, Rune Creation, Potion Brewing, Divination, Leyline Studies, Scroll Scripting, and Enchantment are but a few of the wide variety of studies offered at Foxcliff. The real gem of the university itself is the specific studies towards individual kinds of magic, from Colour Magic to genetic inheritance it is likely the school has extensive literature regarding it. Foxcliff was founded by five families all with the same intention on establishing a place for magical studies to flourish as well as the already-established Houndsridge had done for mundane fields of study. The Bearaton, Serpensortia, Piketeer, Bumbleford, and Newton families pooled their resources to lay the foundation to what Foxcliff is today. Of these families only the Serpensortia and Bumbleford families still exist, the other family names having drifted into other blood-lines from lack of proper male heirs to carry on the family name. Trivia *Edward the IVth was the first Duke of York to be crowned king. York is in the Northumbrian region of the English isles. Category:Locations